India is among the fastest growing economies of the world and as a natural corollary energy needs too is fast expanding. Recent strike by the workers of Coal India Limited (CIL), the biggest industrial action for any sector since 1977, comes at a time when the power plants across the country are grappling with fuel shortages.
For many intellectuals this strike has been attention calling at least if not a wake-up call, the reason being coal accounts for as high as 70% of the electricity produced and 55% of the country’s total energy supply.
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| Sources of renewable energy in India as of December 2013, MNRE India |
One of the solutions is to concentrate more on renewable energy sources and side by side gradually facing out the depletable sources of energy. These renewable energy sources may include utilizing solar energy, wind energy, hydro-power, biomass energy etc. to meet the growing demand.
The current installed capacity of the hydroelectric power plants is just 1520 MW as compared to the total identified potential of 15000 MW. North eastern states and west coast of peninsular India are potential sites for installing plants. If developed fully, it could account for almost 7% of the peak demands of 226 GW by 2016 as forecasted by Electric Power Survey (EPS).
India has huge solar energy potential because of its prime location between the tropic of cancer and equator. South eastern coast and western desert regions are among the most potent sites for the installment of solar power plants. Nearly 35000 sq.km. area of the Thar desert has been set aside for solar power projects, sufficient to generate up to 2100 GW if developed to the full extend. In January 2015, the Indian government significantly expanded its solar plants, targeting 100GW of solar capacity by 2022.
For wind energy India is second just to Germany, as the world’s fastest growing markets. The installed capacity of wind energy in India is 21136 MW which accounts for 8.5% of the total installed power capacity. Currently it generates 1.6% of the power. Territories of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra are among the leading producer of wind energy.
Biomass includes solid biomass, bio-gas, liquid bio fuels, and municipal wastes. India is very rich in biomass, it has a recognized potential of around 21000 MW, while about 3500 MW plants only are installed. Developing biomass at small scale as energy sources may help fulfill localized demands of power.
Taking this scenario into consideration, India has identified potential of 180 GW of energy from renewable resources (Hydropower, Solar power, Wind energy, and Biomass energy). If developed fully it can make up to 80% of the power demand of the year 2016.
However, its setup requires huge land, and to this our agrarian economy and huge population acts as obstacles. Also its low efficiency and huge installation prices involved make it unfavourable to use on local scale. Extraordinary efforts, innovative vision and viable solutions to tackle the increasing demand for energy is required, while maintaining an eco-friendly approach.
